End Of A Dream
by Kazukagi
Summary: To Toph, it was like waking up from a dream. To be near him had been heaven, but now, it was over. Sokka X Toph, Spoilers from Sozin's Comet. My bitter sweet take on the death of Tokka.


Disclaimer: Avatar? Nope, don't own it. Money? Heh, I wish.

**A/N: Well here we are, my Tokka oneshot. This will be a short little number, and no, it won't be about the two of them getting together. This takes place a bit after the finally, and revolves around Toph's acceptance of Suki and Sokka. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

End of a Dream

To Toph, her experiences with him were like a dream, floating on the breeze. Flower petals that rose up, as if in hope, that they might reach the sky. But of course, they could only, no matter how gentle the manner, fall back to the earth. Those petals could never break from the earth, and ascend into the sky.

To Toph, he was the kind of guy that could anything and everything worth noticing. His incessant complaints, his sarcasm, his not-so-witty humor. He injected his own brand of comedy into every event, everything they ever did. He made the boring nights full of laughter, even if it was directed at him. He made those long treks feel less tiering, and always found an excuse to get the rest of the group to rest with him, a rest they would never admit to wanting, even if they did.

He had this fierce dedication that came with all of his humor. Despite his constant whining, He really did want to help Aang in any way he could. He wasn't a bender, so he couldn't really fight, but he could always come up with a plan, with an idea, that would work, no matter how stupid it had sounded on paper.

He was the kind of guy that Toph had never seen. A noble daughter, sheltered from life by her parents, only knew the most sophisticated, strung up type of boy. She had never before met such a boy who was gruff, who didn't care how he looked, who would rather lie around cracking jokes then anything else. He always uplifted her spirits when they were down, and always came bouncing back when he was depressed.

His acts of kindness always caught Toph off guard. He would grab her to pull her out of harms way, he would giver her a chunk of space earth, something she had never felt before. He would help her in all manner of ways, and ask for nothing in return.

She understood, the day that he left to learn how to wield a sword, that they took the boy for granted. Without him, the journey that had seemed so fun.. just wasn't fun any longer. Without his dry humor, there were no laughs. Without his incessant scheduling, there was no order. Without his hunting, there was no meat. Without his presence, they felt an emptiness that they never wanted to feel.

To her, being near him was enough at first. As long as Toph could be near him, protect him from harm, be in earshot of his lame jokes, she was content. It was only when she had probed for just a little more, just a bit more out of him, that she began to understand that what she wanted wasn't going to happen. He had already found somebody, the warrior Suki.

At first, Toph had been confused. What was Suki that she was not? Then she was angry, about how he could take her and toy with her. Then understood, that everything was unjustified. It wasn't her fault that he was with Suki, it wasn't his fault or even Suki's. They had crossed paths first, and fallen in love first. Toph had come along later, and so by fate, there was no room for her. She had wanted to be closer to him, but in essence, that would never happen.

So instead of pouting, Toph began to treasure the time she had with him. In battle, at the camp, on Appa's back, she began to enjoy the time she could spend with him, taking him in. Running across fleets of airships, the looming threat of falling to death as he dragged her along by her hand... that was enough to satisfy her. There had been no affection behind it, he had not held her hand in order to show any emotion, he had simply wanted to save their lives. But it had been enough for her. Because at that moment, as he held onto her form as she slowly slipped from his grasp, surrounded on all sides by fire benders, she was closer to him then anybody. For that moment, she was the closest to him. That was enough.

Just like that, Toph felt as though she had awoken from a dream. The flower petals, so close to the horizon, had finally lost their wind, and sailed back down to fall gently to the field. However, the world Toph had woken up to was not a bad one. The world was at peace, people were happy, and she could go back to a simple life of no adventure. She saw him, with her, but she didn't do a thing. The dream was over, and it had been great while it lasted. But now, now that Toph had awakened, she was ready to leave the dream behind.

She understood that, with their journey over, she wouldn't be able to be near him any longer. She would miss his dry humor, his smiles, his presence. Toph was afraid that without him, her life would be boring, it would be a perpetual existence like the day he had gone off to train, leaving her to lie in the grass, bored out of her mind. That was the one hell she feared. But he had promised to visit her, to talk with her, and so, she left him and Suki, staring at their retreating backs as a smile crept onto her face.

With her dream concluded, Toph could understand a great deal many things. She knew that she had loved him, that she had come to admire him for all the simple, little things he did, all the little mannerisms that made those days all the more enjoyable. He had taught her to never take those small things for granted. He had taught her that, to come up with a brilliant plan, one has to think like a crazy person. He had taught her that despite how short something could be, it was best to enjoy it to the fullest and then let it go when it was over.

So she turned her back as well, and she parted ways. She looked back, she said goodbye and he said the same. She smiled, he smiled, and together, they walked out of each other's life.

"See you later Sokka."

Her dream, was over. It was time to live life.

**Endnotes: Alright, and it's done. As a big Tokka shipper, I was sad to see these two have to split, but it did give me a great idea for a story. Toph doesn't strike me as the kind of person who'd be angry about all of it. This was kind of my resolution, a bitter sweet end to a ship that had a great run. Hope you enjoyed it.**


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